Varanasi court issues notice over Rahul's remarks on Sikhs during US visit

Varanasi, Feb 7 (PTI) A Varanasi district court has issued a notice to Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on a plea seeking registration of a case against him for allegedly making inflammatory remarks in the US, according to the petitioner.

District Judge Sanjeev Pandey has scheduled the hearing for February 25 . The court issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and Gandhi on Thursday asking them to submit their responses to the plea, the petitioner, Nageshwar Mishra, who is a former village head of Tilmapur in Varanasi, said on Friday.

He claimed that during Gandhi's last visit to the US, he had said that Sikhs in India "feel insecure, are deprived of their right to wear turbans and kara and that they are not allowed to enter gurdwaras".

Mishra alleged that Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had supported Gandhi's remarks which, he claimed, were part of a conspiracy to incite civil unrest in India.

He said a lower court had dismissed a similar plea on November 28 last year. Dissatisfied with the decision, he filed a petition through his lawyer in the court of District Judge Sanjeev Pandey.

"The district judge has issued notices to the state government and Rahul Gandhi," he said. PTI